Operational Evaluation of a Construction Tele-Operation Robot with Force Feedback (Evaluation of the Operation System with Video Image Display)

摘要

This research examines a master-slave control system for a tele-operation construction robot. This system is comprised of two joysticks on the master side, which are used to perform the object operation from a remote location, and a robot arm with four degrees of freedom consisting of a fork glove, swing, boom, and arm on the slave side. The authors previously proposed a control method that gives the operator a realistic feeling of the force generated by the construction robot independent of the characteristics of the object being manipulated using the velocity-drive force characteristics of the actuator. However, that research did not reach a stage in which operability could be evaluated adequately when the control method was adapted to actual tasks. Due to the high adaptability of human subjects, there are cases in which adequate evaluation is difficult if only work efficiency is considered. Therefore, an evaluation that includes the mental strain on the operator is necessary. We believe that alleviating this mental strain can contribute to improved efficiency and safety in tele-operation work. In this study, we evaluated operability when this control method is adapted to an actual task, based on work efficiency, indexes expressing the danger level of an operation, and measurement of mental strain using NASA-TLX, and we verified the effectiveness of the control method.